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1997 Challenger (787cc) will not turn over.

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red2.4srt

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We trickle charged the battery, and the starter is clicking, but it just won't turn over. Is there anyway to manually turn the motor over to see if the cylinders are just frozen fast? Do you think I should jump the relay between the battery and starter to make sure it's not just the relay? Gimme some feedback please. Thanks guys!

I should note when we winterized it my father forgot to fog the cylinders and we think that may be the problem. The plug looked like it had some type of rust on it. Help!

Todd
 
Todd...pull the plugs, and remove the grey shield from back of motor. This will expose the PTO. Turn that counterclockwise, should turn freely.
Can spray wd-40, drip marvel mystery oil in cylinders
 
Damnit, I just realized I put this in the PWC thread not the Boat thread... Sorry, if a Mod could move it to the proper forum that would be awesome!
 
Any luck?....alright Todd, B-4 you torch it, and still no luck, first try pipe wrench on PTO, that may help, but not pull to hard. If that fails, if you can get to it, try remove'n starter, maybe its stuck with gear out, lodging into flywheel/?
 
No luck with that. We had a pipe wrench on the PTO with a large pipe on the handle to try and stedily break it loose and the wrench was slipping some. We sprayed some Zep into the cylinders and we're gonna let that soak overnight to see if that helps. It clicks but no real turning over. Thanks for your help Timmy!
 
Thread moved....

I moved the thread before I read through it. Not many times the actual thread starter spots the mistake. But it's done.

Your engine. From what I'm reading, it may be locked. I've found (throught KustomKarl) that the PB blaster is some good stuff. You might pull the plugs and spray some of this stuff, liberally, into the top of your plugs.

With your pipe wrench on the propulsion shaft, try to rock the shaft back and forth with a small amount of pressure. If it doesn't free up, you may want to go ahead and pull the head off. Take off the bolts and water lines. Remove the head cover then the head. Now, you'll be able to get a look into the cylinders to determine the condition of the pistons and rings. If your lucky, one piston will be all the way down and the other, all the way up.

If the pistons and cylinder walls look clean, you may be looking at another area of the engine, like the magneto side. Maybe something broke and is binding the engine from turning.

Look this stuff over and re-post. Don't force anything to hard. You may warp your crankshaft. :cheers:
 
If you are going to fix it. Before you get carried away you might want to separate the pump from the engine. To pull the motor you will have to do this anyway and it might be where the problem exists.

Just kabitzing!
 
hmmmmmm,.....

I dunno on that one. I think if they sat it up like they did and the only thing they didn't do was fog the motor, I'd be leaning toward the engine.

If you put a wrench on the shaft, behind the PTO and push/pull, you should be able to feel the light give between which end is seized.
 
Unfortunately that's what I was afraid of hearing... Damn. So tomorrow i'm gonna try and rock it slowly back and forth. If that doesn't work, pull the water lines and head bolts to gain access to cylinders correct? This isn't what I expected to find in the Summer... @*&#!!! The good thing is, it's a 2 stroke motor, it doesn't take rocket science to fix it/make it run. Hopefully this Zep works and I won't have to tear it apart. Thanks for moving the thread BTW, I was in a bind and needed some fast help and didn't even see it was the wrong section, I just saw Troubleshooting. Stupid me... :D What could've caused this, just condensation from expansion/contraction due to cold weather/hot weather? We did fill up the water lines with RV/Marine antifreeze like stated in the winterization FAQ on this forum, it just slipped our minds to fog the motor... Ugggh... It was in great running condition before we packed her up for the winter too! All this on top of my trailer breaking on the way back from Delaware at the end of the season...
 
condensation...

Yeah, where you are, if the ski was exposed to those freezing temps without fogging, condensation probably hit a bearing or two.

But I'd not give up just yet. Let it soak for a bit and try rocking the shaft. I've got a Arctic Cat at the house I'm working on for a friend who let it sink last year. I got down there in time to get it up and blow the cylinders....didn't have time for anything else. I was busy.....
He brought it to me this spring....motor locked up. Well, I let it soak with the PB blaster............I got it running last week.

So, these things can take a lot. Just be patient and if the Zep doesn't do it, get that PB blaster. Take of the air box (big black box) and the flame arrestor. Should be 6 allen head bolts holding it on. Spray lubricant down the throats of the carbs too!.......Hold the throttle wide open when doing this.

You may break it loose.........:cheers:
 
Thank you sooo much for all your help. I'm going to be getting started on this in a few minutes here, hopefully it'll work. That PB Blaster is some amazing stuff. This Zep we have is also great stuff, but I don't know if it's on the same level as PB Blaster. Thanks again!
 
Ok little bit of an update. I have the airbox and flame arrestor off and sprayed a ton of Zep down there. My father is bringing some PB Blaster home as well as some stuff called Croyle?(sp?) at lunch time(3 mins). I had someone hit the start button while I held a screwdriver lightly on top of the pistons and it seems the back one is the one that's tight. I'm getting the thud from that one, but the front seems like it want's to go... I'll be on this thing all day. :D
 
Still nothing as of now. I called my local Sea Doo Dealership and they said it could be a few days of soaking it. They've had some that broke free, and some that had to be tore down. Still soaking it down...
 
We're tearing down the motor now. Front piston is rusted tight. I wonder how complicated getting the rave valves off is?
 
Rave valve wont be a problem, but piston rusted to walls of cylinder, can be one though...I had to hammer pistons down to get enough clearance, then took sawsall to rods.
 
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We got everything cleared away down to expose the cylinders. Front one is tight. Got the carbs out of the way, the fat pipe(that's what I call it!:D), and we started taking the manifold off but one allen head bolt stripped. It stripped where the allen key goes in at. It's the bottom most one towards the front of the boat. Any ideas on getting that out? We got the rear jug free'd up and ran out of light. I'll be working on it all day tomorrow...


Thanks for the help guys, it's much appreciated!
 
It wasn't backing out with the 8mm Allen pushed all the way in with a 3/8 breaker bar on it. I'm screwed there... I should note that in the other jug I noticed a crack in the outside water jacket area. I guess the antifreeze didn't get where it needed too...

Anyone have 2 787cc Jugs and the corresponding Exhaust Manifold?
 
Pull that motor, strip the manifolds/flywheel,intake,pto, and send to SBT, along with purchasing reman motor, you'll get 1-2 yr warranty.
 
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I'm going to either purchase the Cylinder Exchange Top End Kit or TIG weld the crack myself. Being a welder has it's positives... I'm sooo frustrated with this. I'm confused on how to remove that damn stripped allen bolt and it's eating me up.
 
Heck yah..Tig weld that thing...havn't monkeyed w/ one of those yet, have 2migs...
That bolt, can you cut/grind head off, so manifold can then slide over?
 
Yeah I was thinking about that last night before I went to bed. It looks like it's real tough to get at though. Maybe a die grinder or Dremel would get at it better. Then after the jug's out I can heat up that area and back the bolt out with some vice grips. Well, day 2 of tear down... :D
 
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